RouteComp;

Typed in different destinations - which apts should I choose for next year

Gathering all the information

Inspiration

Every day, you are facing with multiple decisions - where to go to college, what's the meaning of life. While some require huge amounts of effort and time, we will save time on the smaller ones - Which coffee store am I going to study today? Which apartment complex is closest to that computer science lecture building? Which boba store is safer to go during those midnight cravings?
However, comparing different locations at the same time require more efforts than it should - you end up with multiple tabs at the same time, one for each location, adding unnecessary chaos in life. We want to build a website that can gather all the information. For example, when choosing an apartment complex, instead of keeping track on walking distance and safety score, we can simply put in three locations, and compare their route, walking time, and crime score with one hit. Many choices in life should not be that complicated, and that's we want to build "RouteComp;" to simplified unnecessary troubles when comparing locations.

What it does

RouteComp allows users to compare routes from the same starting location to multiple destinations in a single webpage. It offers travel information including travel distance and time, and updates these information simultaneously as different travel methods are chosen. It also rates the safety level of different routes by offering crime score and crime grade. These essential route information help users compare similar destinations they want to go and make a fast and informed decision.

How we built it

We used HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Bootstrap, and Semantic UI to build the front end. On the backend, we used several Google Maps APIs and integrated three Google Maps to let them share the same starting location while each having different destinations. We also manually obtained and displayed the travel information used in these APIs. To obtain the crime data, we were trying to integrate a crime data API. But since we could not find a working one, the current crime data are just placeholders, and we will continue to look for credible crime data as our next step.

Challenges we ran into

The number of Crime Data APIs available online is very limited. It was difficult to find a working API that provides credible crime data. It was also hard to jump on using and understanding the APIs when implementing the maps.

Accomplishment that we're proud of

We successfully made customized use of APIs on the Google Maps Platform and combined three google maps to share the same starting location. We also managed to obtain detailed route information by using the Google Map DistanceMatrix Service and made a customized display of this information on our website.

What we learned

What's next for RouteComp;

We want to utilize the crime score database to give an accurate and lively description of the crime score information, such as a crime heat map on the top of the route, or a heat graph underneath the crime score.